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Weekend Recap – Test The Spirits

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My 11/15/15AM sermon, Test The Spirits (with Small Group Questions) from 1 John 4:1-6, is now online.  It’s nearly impossible to question someone’s spirituality in the day and age we live in.  Everyone gets a “whatever works for you” pass.  But, God seems to have some sort of standard.  And, this sermon was my attempt to deal with what this standard is.  I hope it encourages you and helps you live.

Red Cup?

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A big issue that emerged this past weekend had to do with the lack of Christmas promotion on Starbucks red Christmas cups.  Here’s a link I found most helpful:

When We Love Outrage More Than People by Ed Stetzer

A quote:

Folks, we really need to calm down. If you’ve posted an outraged Facebook update, take it down.
Starbucks cups are red because of the Christmas season. Starbucks is not persecuting you. Starbucks may be attempting to respect those who don’t celebrate Christmas—and that’s OK. That’s their choice. They’re a business that exists to serve all customers without preference, regardless of what winter holidays they do or do not celebrate. If they choose to do that by means of a plain, red cup, that’s their call.
I’m not going to opine on all the motives behind a solo red cup, but, perhaps this is because our society is becoming more secular (even though Starbucks has other Christmas-themed products available). If it is, we still need to learn to live together in our society.

Godly Leadership In the Home

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I was encouraged earlier this week to listen to Heath Lambert’s podcast on Godly Leadership in the Home.

Maybe this would be something that would benefit you, as well.  This brief audio in an interview with Heath Lambert and Stuart Scott.  I love how the counsel to pursue Godly leadership flows out of realities that are in the Gospel.   Further, guys are encouraged to not be passive and even paralyzed by the calling, but are encouraged to seek out what leadership may look like in the Bible.

Coming This Sunday – Test The Spirits

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This coming Lord’s Day, we plan to look at 1 John 4:1-6 and it’s call to test the spirits.  If you have time, here’s the passage: 

[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. [4] Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. [5] They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

  I love what Piper says this means for believers in his sermon Test The Spirits to See Whether They Are From God:

For believers the lesson is twofold.

  1. Do not take credit for your listening ear or your confessing heart or your correct view of Christ. Give credit to the Spirit who is in you, and give God the glory.
  2. When you are threatened by any deception of the evil one—any temptation, or discouragement, or anxiety, or cowardice—remind yourself that “he who is in you is greater than he that is in the world.” Almighty God abides within you. Trust him. For this is the victory that overcomes the world, your faith (5:4) in the sovereign indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

I hope these things encourage you to dig in to what we’ll consider this coming Sunday.  

Weekend Recap – Bible Intensive and the Dangers of Declension

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Wrapped up a huge weekend at Crestview.

Before that, though, I was blessed to serve my family on Friday as Meg’s great aunt passed away.  The memorial service was Friday afternoon in Coldwater, KS.  I tried to encourage them with the truth of Jesus being the Resurrection and the Life.  It was a great time remembering lost loved ones with them.

I hustled back to Hutch for a Bible Intensive Retreat with Jim Elliff and Kole Farney.  Our Elders had benefitted from this earlier in the year, so we met as Elders and Deacons with Jim and Kole to think about John 10 together.  It was rich fellowship seeing Jesus is the Door, the Good Shepherd, The Christ, and the Son of God — truths that must be responded to.

Jim graciously filled the pulpit for me on Sunday morning with a sermon out of many passages in Hebrews on the Dangers of Declension.   We included Jim’s handout 5 Resolves for Personal Revival in the bulletin.  I know God used this sermon to call me out of staleness to vibrancy and I’m praying God uses this entire weekend in our body to awaken us to the realities of who He is and what He’s done for us.

Weekend Recap (Part 1) – 11/1/15

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My 11/1/15AM sermon, Assuring Love from 1 John 3:19-24, is now online.  This sermon helped showcase what God is up to in calling us to love and how this works to build assurance in us.  So, the big aim of John – helping us know that we have eternal life – was tied to the practical aim of 1 John 3 – having our identity in love.  These two purposes were fused in action.  I hope this sermon proves helpful and encouraging to you.

Weekend Recap – Love Out Of Identity

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My 10/18/15AM sermon, Identity of Love from 1 John 3:10-12, is now online.  This sermon tried to get at where these calls to love come from.  And, rather than merely rushing to practice love, John compels us to examine our identity in Christ before we step in to the practice of love.  It’s more about being before doing.  So, this is my encouragement to examine your heart before you do the “doing” of the Christian life.  I hope it helps you.